Annie stared at the two people at the kitchen table.

Tyler’s biological parents.

Seeing him in so much pain as his mother told him the news, so broken, and so mad, she would have given anything to trade places with him. He’d suffered enough in his past.

Picturing that shy boy across the river holding his fishing pole almost too scared to glance up at her, she’d often wondered if maybe he didn’t like her. Still, she had been drawn to him like a star to a constellation, a place in her heart being shaped just for him since she was a girl.

As a child, she never could have understood him or his pain. Now, as adults, the realization sliced through her core. She had to help him.

“What…what should we do?”

“Let him be,” Clara said. “He’ll come around, and when he does, he’ll have questions.”

“Harley.” Father stared at the other woman, a state of shock still etched on his face.

“It’s Clara. Clara Wilde.” The mother folded her delicate hands in her lap as her shoulders slumped. “What’s your real name?”

“Wait…you two don’t actually know each other’s names?” She glanced back and forth between the two of them. “How is that possible if you are Tyler’s father?”

“Annie, you might want to have a seat. I’ll get us all some fresh coffee.” Father stood, taking the coffee carafe that sat in the middle of the table with him.

“Well, I have to admit, this isn’t exactly how I planned our first meeting going,” Clara said. “And please, don’t judge me, Annie, until you know the truth.”

Father placed a coffee cup down in front of Clara.

“I’m listening,” she said as she took a seat across the table.

“Jack and I, we met at a time in my life when I was with someone else. A man I thought was good. A man I thought I wanted to marry, but he was moving a little slower than I wanted. I was in my early twenties. Young and naïve. Jack, here, he came into the restaurant I worked at, and something about him caught my attention.” She passed a subtle glance toward Father. “You were different. Charming, ruggedly handsome, dare I say exotic from the men I’d seen. Something about you enticed me.”

Father nodded. “Same here, Harley.”

Clara stared back at her; the woman’s hands trembled on her coffee mug. “I told myself that I was allowed one exciting night in my life. Nothing about Mark excited me like Jack did, but I could tell he wasn’t one to settle down. He was only passing through after all.” She took a sip of her coffee.

“So, you thought what harm could one night do?” Annie asked.

“Yes, I did.” Clara nodded. “That’s why I didn’t even tell him my name. I figured it was all meaningless anyway, but what happened next, I didn’t expect.”

“You wound up pregnant.” Father took his seat again, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair.

“Yes, and I was scared. I wasn’t certain who the father was. I suspected you, Jack, but I had no proof. Not without a DNA test.” She gave Father a sad glance. “I wished, God how I wished, I knew where you were or even what your name was. I wanted to tell you so bad. I felt such a deeper and stronger connection with you than I ever did with Mark. I couldn’t stop thinking about you, but I knew my feelings were one sided. After all, how can you love someone after one night?” Clara clutched her mug tighter, perhaps to help ease the tremble in her hands. “Besides,” she continued, “I figured if you cared for me like I had begun to care for you, you would have come back. And since you didn’t, I took that as a sign that my baby was with the dad he was supposed to have.”

All of Tyler’s pain because two people wanted no strings attached.

Annie knew it wasn’t her place to judge. But still, she couldn’t help but be angry with these two right now. Father was a good man, and while she didn’t know Clara personally, the woman was Tyler’s mother, and he was wonderful, so this lady had to have redeeming qualities to raise such a magnificent son. However, Annie had a hard time seeing the good in either of them right at the moment.

“So, you married another man and passed Tyler off as his son because you were unsure who the real father was?”

What a bold move.

“Yes. I didn’t have much money, and I had no idea how I would raise a child on my own. I married Mark for the sake of my baby, or so I thought at the time. I’m not happy about what I did, or how I handled things. Especially after, well after…”

“After what that monster did to him,” Father finished. He pushed his chair back, the legs screeching on the wood floor. “Damn it.”

“I’m sorry, Jack. I didn’t know for sure who the father was, and I didn’t know how to get a hold of you. It wasn’t until Tyler got older that I began to really see the resemblances in you two, but even still, I only met you once. I tried to convince myself I was wrong. That I’d forgotten what you really looked like. I can see now that I didn’t.”

“I don’t blame you, Harley. I’m just as much to blame as you, but you want to know what’s the worst about all of this?” He paced and stared back at Clara. “I did come back. I came back for you. But I saw you through the window of the restaurant, pregnant and sitting on some man’s lap with a ring on your finger. I knew I had missed my chance, so I left. Christ. I left.” The man let out a ragged breath.

“I’m so sorry, Jack.” Tears spilled from Clara’s eyes. “I blame myself for everything. If I hadn’t insisted on us keeping our names secret, none of this would have happened. I could have protected my child like a mother is supposed to do. But I swear to you both, I had no idea Mark was the way he was until it was too late. I swear it.” Tyler’s mother broke down in sobs, the cup falling loose from her hand, and coffee sloshed over the table.

Annie reached for a napkin and busied herself with cleaning, soaking in all the information. Despite what that monster, Mark, did to Tyler, she tried to place herself in Clara’s shoes. Poor, baby on the way, uncertain of the real father…who’s to say she wouldn’t have done the same thing. No one can predict the future. She of all people understood that.

“Oh, Clara.” She tossed the towel aside and grabbed the woman’s hand. “You couldn’t help what your husband did to Tyler. And I know deep down, he doesn’t blame you.”

“But it’s my fault. All of it.”

Father grabbed his chair, flipped it around, and straddled it, his chest hitting the back. “Harley, baby, none of this is completely your fault. I should have manned up. Walked in that restaurant and told you how I felt.”

“How you felt? What do you mean?”

“I fell in love with you that night, and I haven’t got you out of my mind since.”

“You did?”

“Yes.” He reached for Clara’s free hand.

“Oh, Jack. What do we do about our son? What about Tyler?”

“Like you said. We’ll give it some time. He’ll come back. Annie’s here, and he loves her. We’ll just wait him out.”

Tyler did love her. The feeling in Annie’s chest, the warmness of his embrace when he held her, the way his eyes glimmered when he stared at her in the mornings just after waking up, all told her he loved her. And the heaviness that set in her chest thinking about his pain reminded her of how much she loved him.

Clara squeezed her hand again, and cut through her thoughts.

“I’m glad he has you.”

“I’m glad I have him. He’s been there for me through everything. I’ll be here for him.” She just wished she knew what to do to help him.

“Thank you,” Clara said.

Annie wrapped the woman in a hug and reached for Father’s hand as fresh, solid tears welled in her eyes. She choked back a sob for the man she loved and another one for his two heartbroken parents, their embrace making a circle of love, for Tyler. She had no idea how she would help him, but she would. She had to.